Bol Bam Orissa Srabana Yatra

Bol Bam Srabana Yatra

During the month of Srabana, Hindus consider it auspicious to pour water on Shiva linga. Devotees carry water from rivers on pitchers from a distance to Shiva temples. There are several rituals associated with the journey, which are difficult and painstaking.

Earlier there used to be less number of such devotees, mostly male. But for the last 5-6 years the number of such devotees has grown many folds. Ladies have also started going on this in increasing numbers. Earlier the number used to be in thousands. Now it is in lakhs.

With the phenomenal growth in numbers, the ‘bol bom walas (kanwaria)’ have become a menace. Transport and sanitation infrastructure is stressed beyond capacity.

Shraban Yatra is an annual ritual. The civic authorities must plan to meet the demands on infrastructure during this month. The railway authorities can think of running additional trains to ease the congestion. They should also take steps to curb travel without ticket and to provide easy access to legitimate ticket holders to reserved compartments.